Turkey Letter 12 August 2019

U.S. delegation in southern Turkey for work on center to oversee Syria safe zone: officials

Turkey criticizes US freeze on Venezuela assets

Turkey says deal with US for safe zone in Syria a good start

Second Turkish ship begins gas drilling off Cyprus

Economy & Energy:

Turkish lira weakens over decreased global risk appetite

Lira Swaps to Wean Banks Off Foreign Funding, Official Says

Turkish industrial production seen contracting 1.01% in June: Reuters poll

Turkey Central Bank Removes Chief Economist, Key Officials

Domestic Politics:

Turkish court lifts block on foreign-backed monitoring group website

Magnitude 6 quake shakes western Turkey; more than 20 hurt

‘Don’t come if you like gold’: Turks march against planned gold mine

Foreign Policy

U.S. delegation in southern Turkey for work on center to oversee Syria safe zone: officials

A U.S. delegation has arrived in Turkey’s southern province of Sanliurfa to start work on the establishment of a joint operations center to coordinate a planned safe zone in neighboring Syria, Turkish authorities said on Monday.

Turkish industrial production seen contracting 1.01% in June: Reuters poll

Turkey’s industrial production is expected to register a 1.01% annual contraction in June, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, as the economy struggles to leave behind the damage of last year’s currency crisis.

A strong earthquake hit western Turkey on Thursday, damaging homes, causing residents to run into the streets in panic and injuring over 20 people.The quake was centered on the town of Bozkurt, in Denizli province, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, AFAD. It said the quake struck at 2:25 p.m. (1125 GMT) with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0. The town is 600 kilometers (375 miles) south of Istanbul.

Thousands of Turks including opposition lawmakers staged a peaceful and unusually large protest on the outskirts of a small western town on Monday against what they say will be pollution from a foreign-owned gold mine project.